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The Department of Justice (DOJ) has received the signal from President Duterte to establish with the water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad Water the amendments proposed by the government to their existing contracts.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Duterte convened the DOJ’s review panel last night for a meeting in Malacañang to present the revised new water concession agreements, which would remove “onerous” provisions in previous contracts.
Guevarra said that the review panel described to the President the provisions that would have to be eliminated or revised and the new provisions that would be incorporated and that would somehow make the water concession agreements “more equitable, more transparent and reduce liabilities. government contingents in addition to improving their governance system. “
After the presentation, said Guevarra, the President gave his starting signal to negotiate with the two water concessionaires.
“In principle, the President approved our recommendation, so the next step will be to sit down with the two water concessionaires in Metro Manila to discuss the specific terms and conditions of a new proposed water concession contract with each of them,” Guevarra said during Kapihan on Wednesday at the Manila Bay Virtual Media Forum.
When asked if the government would continue to press charges against those behind disadvantageous contracts, Guevarra replied: “The president mentioned the anti-corruption law last night in relation to the original water concession agreements, but did not give a specific directive on whether to press charges or not. “
Guevarra said that among the provisions of the existing concession agreements that should disappear are the non-interference clause in the setting of rates and its double provision on compensation derived from said government interference.
Last year, Duterte ordered the Justice Department to review the concession agreements after discovering onerous provisions in existing contracts, and after the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Singapore issued a decision indicating that the Philippine government should pay P7.4 billion to Manila Water and P3.4 billion to Maynilad for the losses they allegedly incurred from the unforced increase in water rates.
The president lashed out at Manila Water and Maynilad and threatened to file an economic sabotage case against the two water companies because of onerous 1997 contracts with the government.
President Duterte made the comment after Guevarra revealed that the Department of Justice considered that the extension of these contracts until 2037 was “irregular,” considering that the extension was granted 12 to 13 years before the original expiration of the concession agreements. age 25 in 2022.
Guevarra said that among the provisions of the old contracts that should be revoked for being onerous is the prohibition of government interference in the rate setting mechanism of the two water companies and the Metropolitan Aqueduct and Sewerage System (MWSS) .
Guevarra previously said that he would enlist the assistance of consultants from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help review the economic and financial terms of the new concession agreement to be offered to water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water.
